Metering device



Aug. 30, 1966 A. s. GERQUEST 3,269,658

METERING DEVICE Original Filed April 1.7, 1962 INVENTOR A r/me 5. E 57 ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,269,658 7 METERING DEVICE Arthur S. Gerquest, Lucas Point, Old Greenwich, Conn. Continuation of application Ser. No. 188,088, Apr. 17, 1962. This application May 28, 1965, Ser. No. 471,766

' 9 Claims. '(Cl. 239124) This is a continuation of application Serial No. 188,088, filed April 17, 1962, now abandoned.

This invention relates to metering devices of the type adapted to control the rate of flow of a fluid through a pipe or duct.

An object is to provide a device of the above type suited for the accurate control of the flow of a liquid to a utility.

A more specific object is to provide a novel and improved device for the control of the flow of fuel and air to an internal combustion engine or to a fuel burner.

Various other objects and advantages will be apparent as the nature of the invention is more fully disclosed.

The nature of the invention will be better understood from the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing in which a specific embodiment has been shown for purposes of illustration.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a front elevation of an internal combustion engine embodying the invention, with parts broken away for clarity;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged vertical section through the metering device taken on the line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a horizontal section taken on the line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a detail section taken on the line 44 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 5 is an elevation similar to FIG. 1 illustrating the metering device applied to a fuel burner, with parts in section for clarity.

Referring to the drawing more in detail, the invention is shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 as applied to an internal combustion engine having a cylinder block and crank case 11 of the usual type and having the usual crankshaft 12 to which connecting rods 13 are attached and a cam shaft 14 connected to actuate the valves, not shown. The cam shaft 14 also actuates a pump 15 through a lever 16.

A bell-shaped housing for the fuel and air metering mechanism is attached by a bottom flange 21 to an intake manifold 22 which feeds the fuel and air mixture to the engine cylinders. The housing 20 has a fixed cap 23 formed with a top wall 24 having a pair of air supply openings 25 which are shown as arcuate in form and tapering in width so as to effect a non-linear variation in the air supply. The wall 24 has a central boss 27 which is threaded into an elbow secured to the end of a fuel supply pipe 29 which is connected to the outlet side of the pump 15. Fuel is supplied to the pump 15 by a feed line 30.

The air control valve is formed by a pair of vanes 31 which are journalled to turn about the boss 27 and are adapted to expose selected portions of the openings 25 as they are turned about the axis of the boss 27. One of the vanes 31 is connected to a pin 32 which is actuated by a rod 33 connected to the accelerator pedal of the vehicle (not shown) so that the air supply is progressively increased as the accelerator is depressed.

A cylinder 35 is disposed axially within the housing 20 and is carried by a tube 36 which extends through the walls of the housing 26 and is connected to the intake side of the pump 15. The cylinder wall is provided with peripheral openings 37 for the passage of a sprayed liquid fuel. A rotatable sleeve 38 is mounted to rotate around the cylinder 35 and has peripheral openings 39 adapted to register with the openings 37 or to close said openings,

Patented August 30, 1966 "ice depending upon the relative positions of the sleeve and cylinder. A pin 40 attached to a vane 31 extends through one of the openings 25 in the top wall 24 and is secured to the sleeve 38 for rotating the sleeve with the vanes 31. The effective areas of the openings 25 and 37 are thus varied in unison.

A spray head 42 is attached to the boss 27 and is disposed to direct a cone of spray downwardly and outwardly within the cylinder 35 in a position such that a portion of the spray is intercepted by the cylinder walls and a portion passes outwardly through the openings 37 and 39. The portion which is intercepted by the cylinder walls passes down through the pipe 36 and is returned to the pump 15 for recycling. The portion which passes through the openings 37 and 39 flows down in the annulus between the cylinder 35 and the housing 20 and is picked up by the air stream from the openings 25 and flows into the intake manifold 22. The housing 20 is venturi-shaped, as indicated at 20a, to provide an increased air velocity in the zone where the spray is picked up in the air stream.

It will be noted that the quantity of fuel passed to the manifold is proportional to the exposed areas of the openings 37 which can be accurately controlled by varying the position of the sleeve 38. Also, the air supply is varied with the fuel supply although not necessarily in a fixed ratio as this can be varied according to the shape of the openings 25. In the form shown the openings 25 are progressively exposed from their narrow ends to their Wider ends. Hence the air supply increases at a more rapid rate than the fuel supply. This ratio may, however, be varied according to the requirements.

This device constitutes a carburetor which is capable of producing a rapid and eflicient response to accelerator movements.

FIG. 5 illustrates the above system as applied to the control of the supply of fuel and air to a fuel burner. In this embodimenta burner tube 50 extends through a furnace wall 51 into a combustion chamber 52. A housing 53, similar to the housing 20 above described, is attached to the tube 50 to supply fuel and air thereto. The housing 53 is formed with a top wall 55 having air supply openings 56 therein, the effective areas of which are controlled by pivoted vanes 57. A fuel supply pipe 58 terminates in a nozzle 59 within the housing 53 which produces a cone of spray withina cylinder 60 having spray openings 61 controlled by a rotatable sleeve 62. The vanes 57 and sleeve 62 are controlled in unison by a pin 69 which may be actuated by any suitable control element not shown. The pipe 58 is fed from the high pressure side of a pump 63 to which fuel is supplied by supply pipe 68. The cylinder 60 is connected by a pipe 64 to return intercepted spray to the intake side of the pump 63. The spray which passes through the openings 61 flows into a pipe 65.

The pipe 65 carries a spinning cup atomizer 66 within the furnace which is rotated by a set of air vanes 67 due to the air stream flowing through the tube 50 into the furnace. The air enters through the openings 56 in the top wall 55, passes downwardly through the housing 53 into the pipe 65 together with the portion of the fuel which passes into the housing 53 from the spray 59. The pipe 65 thus contains fuel mixed with air or fuel and air according to the size of the pipe which passes to the rotating cup 66 and is discharged into the furnace 52. The air is drawn along this path by the negative pressure which is usual in a furnace. The fuel supply is also drawn along the pipe 65 with the air.

In this embodiment the quantity of fuel is accurately controlled by varying the position of the vanes 57 and of the sleeve 62 as in the first embodiment. This provides a sensitive and accurate control of the burner flame from the nozzle 66.

While a control of the rotating sleeve type has been shown, it is to be understood that the proportion of the intercepted spray may be varied by other means, such as by rotating or oscillating a spray head through the zone of an opening which passes the spray in a predetermined portion only of the spray path. A specific construction has been shown by way of illustration only.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for metering the flow of liquids which comprises a housing having a bottom liquid discharge opening, a spray head in said housing connected to inject liquid into said housing in the form of a uniform spray, a member having a wall disposed to intercept a portion of said spray, said wall having openings for the passage of non-intercepted spray into said housing for discharge through said bottom opening, adjustable means to vary the effective area of said openings, means collecting and discharging the intercepted spray separately from the nonintercepted spray, said intercepting wall being in the form of a cylinder having a cylindrical sleeve mounted to turn therearound, said cylinder and said sleeve having registering openings for the passage of said spray.

2. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 in which said housing has a set of air openings formed therein, a rotatable vane disposed to vary the effective area of said last openings, and control means to rotate said sleeve and said vane in unison for varying the effective areas of said spray openings and said air openings in a pre-determined ratio.

3. A fuel control apparatus for engines having a fuel intake manifold, comprising a housing, having an outlet opening communicating with said manifold and having an air inlet opening, a movable vane mounted to vary the effective area of said air inlet opening, a cylinder having a cylindrical wall mounted within said housing, a sleeve mounted to turn about said wall, said wall and sleeve having registering openings, a spray head in said cylinder adapted to project a cone of spray into said cylinder a portion of which passes through said registering openings and the remainder of which is intercepted by said cylindrical wall, a fuel pump connected to feed liquid fuel to said spray head, means collecting the intercepted spray from said cylinder and returning the same to said pump for respraying, said housing being adapted to feed the spray from said openings into said manifold, and means actuating said sleeve and said vane in unison for varying the quantity of fuel supplied to said engine.

4. A fuel burner comprising a fuel pipe having a fuel atomizing tip adapted to produce a cone of fuel for combustion and a fuel metering device connected to control the flow of fuel to said pipe comprising a housing, a spray head in said housing adapted to project a cone of spray axially thereof, a cylindrical wall positioned to intercept the spray from said head, a sleeve mounted to turn about said wall, said wall and sleeve having registering openings for the passage of spray from said cone of spray, a fuel pump connected to supply liquid fuel to said spray head for spraying thereby, means at the bottom of said housing for collecting and returning to said pump for re-spraying the portion of said spray intercepted by said wall, said housing having means to collect the spray from said opening and to supply the same to said tip for atomization therein.

5. A fuel burner as set forth in claim 4 in which said housing includes means for inducing a flow of air adapted to pick up the liquid in said housing and carry the same to said tip.

6. A fuel burner as set forth in claim 5 having means to vary the air flow through said housing and the effective area of said openings in unison.

7. Apparatus for metering the fiow of liquids which comprises a housing having a bottom liquid discharge opening, a spray head in said housing connected to inject liquid into said housing in the form of a uniform spray, a member having a wall disposed to intercept a portion of said spray, said wall having openings for the passage of non-intercepted spray into said housing for discharge through said bottom opening, adjustable means to vary the effective area of said openings, means collecting and discharging the intercepted spray separately from the nonintercepted spray, said housing being provided with a set of air openings and a vane having means for adjustment mounted to vary the effective area of said openings for controlling the air fiow through said housing.

8. Apparatus for mete-ring the flow of liquids which comprises a housing having a liquid discharge opening, a spray head in said housing connected to inject liquid into said housing in the form of a spray extending along a predetermined path, a fixed division wall extending along the path of said spray between said spray head and said housing, said wall being disposed transverse to the direction of movement of the spray particles in a position to intercept the entire quantity of spray from said head and having means to discharge the intercepted spray, said wall having openings extending along a predetermined portion of the path of said spray and adapted to pass spray from said head into said housing for discharge through said discharge opening, said open-ings being defined in part by an edge positioned to divide the intercepted spray from the non-intercepted spray and means adjusting the position of said edge along said path for thereby varying the portion of the spray which passes through said wall openings.

9. Apparatus for metering the flow of liquid which comprises a member having a discharge opening, a spray head connected to inject liquid in the form of a spray along a predetermined path on said member which intersects said opening and having a constant spray area along said path, said opening being defined in part by an edge extending across said path and positioned to divide intercepted spray from non-intercepted spray and means adjusting the position of said edge along said path relative to the area of the spray in a direction to vary the area of the non-intercepted portion of the spray which passes through said opening.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 890,970 6/1908 Durr 26136.l 1,162,111 11/1915 Simpson 26l45 2,256,080 9/1941 Eweryd et .al. 239-124 X FREDERICK L. MATTESON, JR., Primary Examiner.

E. G, FAVORS, Assistant Examiner. 

1. APPARATUS FOR METERING THE FLOW OF LIQUIDS WHICH COMPRISES A HOUSING HAVING A BOTTOM LIQUID DISCHARGE OPENING, A SPRAY HEAD IN SAID HOUSING CONNECTED TO INJECT LIQUID INTO SAID HOUSING IN THE FORM OF A UNIFORM SPRAY, A MEMBER HAVING A WALL DISPOSED TO INTERCEPT A PORTION OF SAID SPRAY, SAID WALL HAVING OPENINGS FOR THE PASSAGE OF NON-INTERCEPT SPRAY INTO SAID HOUSING FOR DISCHARGE THROUGH SAID BOTTOM OPENING, ADJUSTABLE MEANS TO VARY THE EFFECTIVE AREA OF SAID OPENINGS, MEANS COLLECTING AND DISCHARGING THE INTERCEPTED SPRAY SEPARATELY FROM THE NONINTERCEPTED SPRAY, SAID INTERCEPTING WALL BEING IN THE FORM OF A CYLINDER HAVING A CYLINDRICAL SLEEVE MOUNTED TO TURN THEREAOUND, SAID CYLINDER AND SAID SLEEVE HAVING REGISTERING OPENINGS FOR THE PASSAGE OF SAID SPRAY. 